Refueling the economy: City, county combine to buy land for Tinker expansion

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin; Lt. Gen. Bruce A. Litchfield, commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center; and Kathleen I. Ferguson, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and energy, attend the announcement of a deal that will provide more land for Tinker Air Force Base. (Photo by Kelly White, Tinker Take Off)

OKLAHOMA CITY – Tinker Air Force Base accepted title Wednesday to 158 acres of a former Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. rail yard that once served a General Motors plant.

U.S. Air Force officials said they will use the land to build a depot maintenance facility for the military’s next big aerial refueling aircraft, the KC-46A Pegasus, with the first plane expected to move through by 2018.

The Oklahoma City municipal government purchased the BNSF yard in order to deed the land over to the base, bringing a nearly decade-long redevelopment project to a close. General Motors shut down its sport-utility vehicle assembly line at the plant in 2006, eliminating about 2,500 union jobs. The building remained vacant until 2008, when the board of Oklahoma County commissioners asked residents to approve a $55 million bond issue to purchase the property and lease it to Tinker.

To purchase the rail yard, the Oklahoma City municipal government contributed $23.5 million, and Oklahoma County put up $12.5 million. The Air Force paid $8 million. Cathy O’Connor, president of the Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City, said the investment will help revitalize economic development in the area.

“This truly does bring it full circle,” said Bonnie Cheatwood, executive director at the Midwest City Chamber of Commerce. “There’s no way this couldn’t have a huge economic impact. It’s going to bring 1,300 jobs, to say nothing of spinoff interests. You’ll have other companies moving here, generating more jobs and residents.”

Cheatwood said she expects that the business conference Tinker & the Primes held annually in Midwest City will be too large to handle this year because of the new business the new depot will attract.

The KC-46A is intended to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers, the primary refueling aircraft for more than 50 years. Lt. Gen. Bruce Litchfield said that since the aircraft was introduced, Tinker has been home to the majority of KC-135 sustainment and maintenance. The modernized KC-46A replacement tanker will extend the global reach of the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

“It’s safe to say that supporting the KC-46 represents the bedrock for the next 50 years,” Litchfield said.